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Mercedes-Benz ML55 Not For Me
By OnTopic | August 1, 2010
The ML55′s engine isn’t exactly the same as in the E55 and CLK55. With 255kW, maximum power is five fewer – an inevitable consequence of the reshaping of the engine’s torque curve.
Weight is the obvious reason for the engine alterations. The ML, with its separate ladder-frame chassis and steel body, is a chubby thing even before it’s stuffed with all the comfort; safety and impress-the-neighbors. Monstrous tyres also contribute a hefty number of kilograms to a kerb weight that’s well beyond two tonnes.
The consequences of mass are inescapable. In the E55, AMG’s V8 feels invincibly effective. Its sends the car towards the horizon with irresistible force. The several hundred additional kilos of the ML55 make a big difference. Absurdly speedy for a 4WD, yes. But awesome it is not.
Drive the ML55 with anything like exuberance and you begin to wonder about the reason for endowing a 4WD with this much performance. AMG’s expertise in making cars handle, steer and brake is considerable. But doing the business on a 4WD appears to be beyond their ability.
Even with the whopper Dunlops doing their best, the ML55 doesn’t reply to the steering with anything gratifying immediacy. There’s a big amount of under-steer as the rubber struggles to persuade two tonnes to alter course. Further under-steer is almost certain if a speedy exit is sought from tight corners. In this situation the ML55′s standard electronic stability system will seek to prevent the situation deteriorating. But while the ESP operates with commendable subtlety in the similarly equipped E55, its activity in the ML55 is annoyingly jerky as it seeks to curb under-steer by cutting the production of torque. It operates with all of the finesse of a cab driver. None.
The ML55′s brakes are great. There’s a lot of room inside the 18in wheels, and in this case its pretty much stuffed with Brake Disc.
Anyone who expects a driving experience from the ML55 that’s truly special is sure to be disappointed. That said, there’s something both majestically impressive and quite novel about a 4WD that’s can do what the ML55 does. But a fast and above averagely agile elephant remains an elephant, no matter what.
What’s amazing is that there are many people who find such a creature to their taste. But its not for me.
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